Browns set up for QB depth chart change in Week 17 with injury news

Billy Heyen

Browns set up for QB depth chart change in Week 17 with injury news image

Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns are two weeks away from the end of the regular season.

Injury may force them to make a QB depth chart change for Sunday's Week 17 clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A new addition came on Friday's injury report: Dillon Gabriel with a left shoulder injury.

That's Gabriel's throwing shoulder, so it seems unlikely he'd be ready to back up Shedeur Sanders on Sunday.

If that's the case, Bailey Zappe would be elevated from the practice squad to be QB2.

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Sanders is still expected to be the starter for the final two weeks.

Ironically, Zappe has actually already started a game in his career for the Browns. He started the season-ending Week 18 game in 2024 for Cleveland.

The Browns have had plenty of quarterback adventures this season, and they'd surely like to just see Sanders be steady for the final two weeks of the season.

There's likely a new QB arriving in the 2026 NFL Draft, whether in the first round or later. It remains an unsettled position in Cleveland.

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